02-20-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
GOREVILLE - In the first semifinal game on Wednesday
night at the 1A Goreville Regional, the Crab Orchard Trojans
were making a game of it in the first half against the top-seeded
hosts.

After
a bucket by sophomore forward Keegan Peek off of a rebound of
his own ......

1A
SESSER-VALIER REGIONAL

Red
Devils survive scareSesser-Valier edges rival Christopher, 46-44

02-19-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
SESSER
– Although the Sesser-Valier Red Devils led for most of
their regional semifinal matchup on Tuesday night, they were
never really comfortable.

But
like most good teams that have been through a lot of close games,
the hosts managed to make enough “feel good” plays
when they counted.

MIDLAND
TRAIL CONFERENCE

Waltonville
takes home senior night winSpartans' great start holds up; Victory
ties Wayne City for second in MTC

02-16-2019
BY JACK BULLOCKWALTONVILLE - Senior night's, in
most cases, are a final chance for the locals to get a glimpse
at the kids who have played for the school on their home floor
and for the team to play well in front of their faithful.

The
Waltonville Spartans celebrated their final regular season game
and .....

02-12-2019
BY JACK BULLOCKSPARTA - For the Okawville Rockets
on Tuesday in their road game against Sparta, priority one was
to get
the ball inside to their big man while also working for the
best percentage shot possible.

Six-foot-seven
junior center Jackson Heckert took control in the paint .....

02-11-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
THOMPSONVILLE
– In a contest that in the biggest of regular season pictures
amounted to little more that a make up game scrimmage from a
snowed out shootout, the Thompsonville Tigers played it like
it was a regional title game.

Coach
Pete Gordon had his team ready to go against private school
Gateway ......

02-09-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE
- The return match up between SIRR Mississippi Division rivals
Nashville and Pinckneyville on Saturday night didn't turn out
to be the kind of contest that most fans had in mind when they
entered Nashville's Assembly Hall.

The
two teams battled back on January 4th with the host Panthers
escaping with .....

02-01-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
DIETERICH
– Coming off of a tough loss on the road at Neoga on Tuesday,
head coach Josh Zink was hoping his North Clay Cardinals would
respond with a “big effort” on the road Friday night.

01-29-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
WOODLAWN
– On Tuesday night, in a defensive struggle between two
long time rivals, the Woodlawn Cardinals' defense held Sesser-Valier
sharp shooter Tyler Winchester well below his scoring average
as he finished with just eight-points on the night.

01-24-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
HARRISBURG
– The Crab Orchard Trojans used a couple of big scoring
runs, one each in the second and third quarters, and held off
a furious rally by Carrier Mills-Stonefort in the fourth quarter,
to earn a spot in the consolation championship game with a 67-59
win Thursday night.Coach
Jon Brown got 23-points from junior Hunter Throgmorton along
with 19-points from junior Tony Lakotich as the Trojans improved
to 14-9 on the season.

01-15-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
OKAWVILLE
– Two important elements of the Okawville Rockets' game
plan came together in their 48-38 win over Waterloo Gibault
on Tuesday night at the Okawville Invitational Tournament.

The
scoring of 6-foot-4 senior Will Aubel and some key offensive
.....

01-12-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
WEST FRANKFORT
– If you wanted to see a great game to open up an invitational
tournament, you couldn't have picked a better one than the contest
on Saturday night at West Frankfort.

The
matchup between Carterville and Eldorado featured 17 tie scores
and 10 lead .....

01-05-2019BY JACK BULLOCK
MOUNDS
– For head coach Daryl Murphy getting a win on the road
at Mounds Meridian on a Saturday afternoon was very important.

After
coming off of a good win Friday night over Harrisburg, the Red
Devils were a bit sluggish at the beginning of their matinee
on Saturday, according to .....

BLACK
DIAMOND CONFERENCE WEST

Blackcats
roll past ViennaGoreville
never trails in 54-39 romp on the road

01-05-2019
BY JACK BULLOCKVIENNA – Coaches, when talking
about the beginning of games, like to use the phrase “punched
them in the mouth” when describing a good start.

That
is exactly what the Goreville Blackcats did, metaphorically
speaking, to their Johnson County rivals Vienna on Saturday
night.

38TH
ANNUAL SESSER-VALIER HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

Red
Devils win titleSesser-Valier edges Marissa-Coulterville, 57-54;
first SVHT title in 18 years
Woodlawn, Goreville, Cobden post final day victories

12-28-2018BY JACK BULLOCK
SESSER
– It was the year 2000. America had survived the Y2K scare
and a controversial presidential election.

Red
Devils' head coach Shane Garner was a guard at his Alma mater
Sesser-Valier.

38TH
ANNUAL SESSER-VALIER HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

S-V
rolls past TigersRed Devils make the last run count, beat Thompsonville,
66-52 Marissa-Coulterville awaits S-V
in title game showdown

12-28-2018BY JACK BULLOCK
SESSER
– With the game even at 44-all at the end of the third
quarter, the Sesser-Valier Red Devils were looking for a difference
maker heading to the fourth quarter to decide who would join
Marissa-Coulterville in Saturday night's championship game of
the 38th annual SVHT. Six-foot-one
junior Peyton Bates filled that role.

12-25-2018BY JACK BULLOCK
ELDORADO
– Heading into the 54th annual Eldorado Holiday Tournament
the defending champions, the host Eagles are the eighth-seed
as they lost a lot of talented kids from a two-season run that
produced the most wins in the school's storied history.

Head
coach Josh Bradley guided his troops to a 54-7 mark, including
.....

The
first release of information about the IHSA's new two-year classification
cycle, which was adopted by the IHSA Board of Directors in June
2018, has been posted. The classification cycle covers the next
two school years: 2019-20 and 2020-21. During that period, classifications
in multi-class sports and activities will not change.

12-14-2018BY JACK BULLOCK
ST. ELMO
– The St. Elmo/Brownstown Eagles advanced to the title
game of their own holiday tournament for the fourth consecutive
year by rallying for a 66-65 win over a “stunned”
Vandalia Vandals' club.

The
visitors had everything going for them in the first half and
were on .....

12-13-2018BY JACK BULLOCK
ST. ELMO –
The Mulberry Grove Aces, despite an undefeated record, came
into the 59th annual St. Elmo Holiday Tournament as just the
fourth seed and head coach Andrew Beckham and his club believe
that they deserved a higher ranking.

Not
only were they searching for some respect coming into Thursday
night's semifinal game against Cumberland, the Aces were also
seeking a .....

12-10-2018
BY JACK BULLOCKWAYNE CITY – Sometimes entering
a second contest against a team that you defeated handily the
first time, being focused in the early parts of the first quarter
is very important.

12-08-2018
BY JACK BULLOCKNASHVILLE – After spending
two weeks on the road playing tournament games and one regular
season contest, the Nashville Hornets on Saturday night made
their way back into their comfort zone; the Assembly Hall.

11-28-2018BY JACK BULLOCKCAMPBELL HILL –
The Steeleville Warriors let their defense set the stage for
a romping victory on Wednesday night.

Although
the squad missed some easy chances on offense during a second
quarter stretch, they were a stingy crew on defense.

ABV
WEEK 1 HIGHLIGHTS

Tournament
champs make early season statementsUnbeaten teams roar out of the gate;
Highlight Week 1 of 2018-19

11-26-2018BY JACK BULLOCKMT. VERNON - After the first week
of the season there are some major ABV props to send out.

The
Fairfield Mules won one of the
toughest first week tournaments, going 4-0 to take home the
title of the Lawrence County Capital Classic.

CHRISTOPHER
"TURKEY" TOURNAMENT

Thompsonville
dominates in title winTigers lead from start to finish
in 53-33 championship game triumph

11-24-2018BY JACK BULLOCKCHRISTOPHER – In the first
two games of the season for Coach Pete Gordon's Thompsonville
Tigers, which began at the Christopher Turkey Tournament, they
got of to relatively slow starts.

In
contests against Zeigler-Royalton and Norris City-Omaha-Enfield
this club .....

NON-CONFERENCE

Sesser-Valier
tops West FrankfortWinchester nets 36-points, passes
1,000 for his career in 81-65 triumph

11-23-2018BY JACK BULLOCKSESSER – The senior season
for Sesser-Valier guard Tyler Winchester opened with a “bang”
on Friday night in front of a large home crowd.

It
is safe to say this 6-foot-2 shooting guard didn't disappoint
anyone wearing Maroon and White on opening night.

CHRISTOPHER
"TURKEY" TOURNAMENT

Christopher
opens season with winGarver, Pratt lead Bearcats to
semifinals; Webber drops into consolation sideWayne City advances past Waltonville

11-19-2018BY JACK BULLOCKCHRISTOPHER – There were
a lot of question marks heading into the Christopher Bearcats
season opener against Webber Township at the 44th annual Christopher
“Turkey” Tournament.

One
of the questions that needed to be answered was who was going
to step up .....

ABV
Annual Preview - November 18, 2018

11-18-18BY
JACK BULLOCKMT. VERNON - The ABV Preview for
the 2018-19 is completed.

Well, nearly all of it.

The
3A conferences Mississippi Valley and South Seven are like an
election.

Not
all of the precincts have reported.

I
have information from five of the MVC, and two of the South
Seven.

A
couple of more days won't hurt anything.

Many
of the schools won't start for another few days anyway.

I
have received information (most of it promptly) from nearly
every school I contacted that I normally try to preview.

Some
still refuse to participate.

I'm
not going to rant this year about those (3) coaches. It is what
it is.

I
also added a few teams that came from coaches outside of the
area that wanted to be a part of ABV.

My
policy is “No Team Left Behind.”

If
you send the info, I will put something together.

There
are some changes this season in the Rankings and you can read
about it on the “RANKINGS” page by clicking on that
link.

I
have added a few northern schools to the process and some were
very receptive to providing the information.

This
season was much better all around in the gathering and the writing.

I
hope it looks that way on the pages.

Ad
sales were up this season, which is a good thing.

There
are no pop up ads or click bait on my website. Just simple links
to follow.

For
those of you who are not familiar with my website, to find the
different teams that are previewed you click on the link at
the top and bottom of ALL of the pages on my website that is
labeled “TEAMS.”

You
can then scroll down and find your favorite team by picking
the conference affiliation.

Many
of the teams are Independents or are in the conference that
is out of the ABV area yet they still feed into one of the three
postseason supersectionals in which ABV deals with.

All
of those teams are in the link called “Southern Illinois
Independents.”

The
Carbondale Supersectionals for both 1A and 2A along with the
1A Jacksonville Supersectional.

If
you are a frequent follower of ABV, be sure to refresh pages
to get the newest edition of the page.

If
you are still seeing the older versions, it is probably because
your old data and cache files need to be cleared from your browser.

Depending
on which browser you use, this is generally a simple fix.

As
with most years, there will be some mistakes made but most can
also be fixed.

The
rankings I do are my opinions of what I believe will happen
during the year, culminating with the only tournament that really
matters; the IHSA state tournament.

If
I pick someone number #1, I believe that they are eventually
going to end up at Carver Arena playing for a state championship.

If
I didn't believe it, I wouldn't type it.

Anyway,
this is season number #21 for me, four doing a newsletter, 17
on the web.